Monterey From an Anchored Ship

Monterey, California Information
Contributed by
Tom Ogg

Language and Currency
What is Monterey Like?
What is the Weather Like?
Where Does the Ship Dock?
Where is the Shopping?
What is There to Buy?
What is There To Do?
Is There Anything of a “Don’t Miss Quality?
Are There Any Great Restaurants or Bars?

Monterey, California Port Reviews

Language and Currency

The Official language of Monterey is English and the currency is the U.s. Dollar. Credit cards are widely accepted everywhere.

What is Monterey like?

Just Some of Monterey's Wonderful Sea life

Monterey is a quaint little village with a huge history. The Monterey Peninsula is World Famous for its charm and sophistication and its many faces will capture your imagination. It offers great shopping, world class sights, a close up view of California's central coast's wildlife and superb dining experiences. In short, Monterey is the perfect port for a day of exploring.

What is the weather like?

Monterey enjoys temperate weather year around. While never getting really hot, Monterey benefits from its location along the Pacific Ocean on the Monterey Peninsula. Look for cool days in the fall, winter and spring months (in the 50s and 60s) with warmer days in the summer.

Where does the ship dock?

Celebrity's Mercury Anchored off Monterey

Ships anchor off of Monterey and tender into the Fisherman's Wharf pier where they tie up to one of the local docks.

The Tender Wharf in Monterey

Where is the shopping?

Shopping in Fisherman's Wharf

Within a minute of leaving the tender, you can start enjoying the shopping on Fisherman's Wharf. From there, you can enter downtown Monterey for more shopping, or you can make your way south to Cannery Row for more shopping for unique and unusual shopping opportunities.

Downtown Monterey's Shopping District

Next, a visit to Cannery Row just south of Fisherman's Wharf is a total immersion in unique shops and boutiques. World famous Cannery Row offers hundreds of restaurants, bars, shops, boutiques and places to visit. The beaches are world class and one could spend the entire day in the Cannery Row district and have a fabulous experience on their cruise.

Monterey's Cannery Row

A trip to close-by Carmel is like a trip to Europe because of the cosmopolitan feeling and many specialized boutiques offering unique products and collectibles. Carmel is a very wealthy community and caters to a exceptionally discerning clientele. Make your way to Ocean Avenue and start enjoying the small shops and unique boutiques. that surround the area.

What is there to buy?

Just about anything that you would like. Fisherman's Wharf is the place to buy tourist items. Cannery Row is a great place to buy theme items for Monterey, while downtown Monterey offers everything from specialty wines to designer clothes, books to exotic collectibles and everything in between. Look for art galleries, jewelry stores, designer clothes and much, much more.

What is there to do?

Old Fisherman's Wharf Entrance

First of all, just exploring the immediate area around the tender wharf reveals many interesting boutiques, restaurants and street vendors. If you turn to the right fromthe wharf and follow the pedestrian/bike train, it will take you to Cannery Row and the Monterey Aquarium, which are definitely worth visiting.

One of the Rental Bikes Along the Pedestrian/Bike Trail

If you feel energetic, you can rent one of the 2 passenger or four passenger bikes to sightsee in. But, be aware that I saw many folks that had burned their legs out that were not used to peddling. The trail offers excellent views along the harbor and coastline and will take you to Monterey's wonderful tourist areas.

Ocean Kayaking in Monterey

One can also choose to go ocean kayaking, SCUBA diving or any number of other ocean oriented sports while visiting Monterey. You will find a number of rentals in the Cannery Row area.

Whale Watching from Old Fisherman's Wharf

There are hourly whale watching boats that depart from Old Fisherman's Wharf well worth doing, especially if you have never done it before.

The Lone Cyprus, 17-Mile Drive, Carmel

Of course, no visit to Monterey would be complete without taking the 17-Mile Drive in Carmel. This fabulous drive reveals some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. This is also the location of world famous Pebble Beach Golf Course. Your ship will undoubtedly offer this excursion and it is well worth the cost to take it. You can also rent a car for the day and drive to Carmel, so some shopping and the drive the 17-Mile Drive. If you select this option, I would highly recommend driving into the Big Sur for a few miles to explore its beauty and then also stopping in Pacific Grove.

Is there anything of “Don’t Miss” quality?

The Monterey Aquarium

Yes, I would say that a visit to Monterey without visiting the Monterey Aquarium would be like going to Morton's Steakhouse and only having a salad. It is all good, but the Monterey Aquarium is an excellent experience. Don't miss it.

Are there any great restaurants or bars?

There are dozens of quality restaurants in Monterey, but it would be difficult to single one out as being the best. Enjoy!

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